Getting two Tivo units from the woot deal hooked up this Saturday. Cox in my area (Santa Barbara/Southern Cal) charges $59.00 for the truck roll for up to two cable cards, and an additional $10 for each cable card after that. Kind of $$ IMO for something a chimpanzee can do. Cards are also $1.99/mo each and they won't give me the first one free.

Here's to hoping the guy does a good job on saturday with two Tivo HDs.

ask (insist) cox for the m card...you only need 1 card for each tivo, so you'll save a few bucks on installation & monthly fees

ask (insist) cox for the m card...you only need 1 card for each tivo, so you'll save a few bucks on installation & monthly fees

that's how I went in San Diego a month ago & all is well

I wish, they don't have M cards here. I've asked several times and even this time when I called to setup the appointment the guy just assumed I needed two, i had to correct him and tell him 4. Which is kind of wierd, because I know that we're now tied in with the San Diego site somehow. Last year or so they moved all their customer service and support and even a lot of equipment down to San Diego, their site up here is little more than a shell these days.

Just an update on my install with Cox. Tech showed up and ended up installing M cards, apparently there is a pretty large disconnect from the customer service phone jockies and the field techs. The tech spent all of about 15 minutes installing the cards on both of my Tivo's with no problems at all.

I did have a bunch of channels disappear on me, but it was apparently because one of the idiots along the way decided I no longer wanted any of my digital services and removed them from the account.. That was resolved quickly over the phone, i now get all cox channel tiers including all HD channels.

Just an update on my install with Cox. Tech showed up and ended up installing M cards, apparently there is a pretty large disconnect from the customer service phone jockies and the field techs. The tech spent all of about 15 minutes installing the cards on both of my Tivo's with no problems at all.

I spent my first three years with Cox as a field tech and these last two as a "phone jocky" and if it's run on your side of the country like it is here then I can tell you that you don't know the half of it. If you think that's bad it's the disconnect between sales and technical that should really scare you.

Though I have a feeling it's like that with any company that does this kind of thing. Each department is trained differently by different people with different end goals in mind. That kind of thing is hard to change.

Glad to hear it went well in the end. Sure it's not my market or "my people" but it is my conpany for better or worse, and I hear far too much of the bad. So any story about it going right makes me happy.

A tech (very good one) and I have probably spent about 10 hours now in 2 day going between M cards and S cards in two of my TiVo HD's and keep having issues.

The M cards would show as authorized (CP Auth Received), but could not decrypt any encrypted channels (3 or 4 different M cards tried).

The S cards (we've been through about 6 so far) show as authorized (CP Auth Received), but some channels (HD channels mostly) STILL will only show a black screen.. while other encrypted channels will appear.

I've had tech support send all the repairing and hits they can.. Nothing changed. I am beyond frustrated and about to give up my TiVos to just go to Cox HD DVRs.. Something I REALLY do not want to do because I HATE Scientific Atlanta boxes, and I will loose all the add'l TiVo features. Not to mention a lot of money i've already spent into the TiVo's.. but I am getting to my end point on this.

My signal levels are fine, all the right info is on my COX account (according to many dispatchers and tech support people), and NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK!

The M cards would show as authorized (CP Auth Received), but could not decrypt any encrypted channels (3 or 4 different M cards tried).

"CP Auth Received" is not the same as "authorized." "CP Auth Received" means the cards are properly paired, so if appropriately authorized (a separate step), you'd be able to see copy protected (non-0 CCI) content.

On the cards, you need to check the CA screens, which say whether the card is authorized for the currently tuned channel(s).

"CP Auth Received" is not the same as "authorized." "CP Auth Received" means the cards are properly paired, so if appropriately authorized (a separate step), you'd be able to see copy protected (non-0 CCI) content.

On the cards, you need to check the CA screens, which say whether the card is authorized for the currently tuned channel(s).

In most cases the first CableCARD is included in the plan as long as you forego the cable box. So really it's only an extra $8.95. Although that is still pretty high. Maybe what you should do is wait a few months until your cable company starts getting multi-stream CableCARDs. The TiVo only requires one of those, so you'd be able to get dual tuners without any extra charge.

Dan

Had Cox Cable come out last night and install a multistream card in my HD TiVo. Had problems with receiving HD channels higher than 718. I thought it was something back at the office but the cable guy boosted my signal (still not working) and then replaced the card with another. Success! However he related that it wasn't switching the cards it WAS the office, they forgot to check a box on the Computer that would allow access to channels higher than 718. I still think that they will charge me to for two cards. The multistream card is to save physical space and reduce inventory costs. Cox will still end up charging for 2 digital streams. The whole cox chinese menu of pricing is designed to confuse customers and makes it impossible to figure out how to get what you want at the lowest cost. But that is why they design it that way... just like the wireless phone companies design their plans.

I just got a letter in the mail today from Cox. They told me that they missed their SDV rollout on July 1 and that they were going to go live on Oct 11. They specifically offered Tivo HD and Tivo Series 3 owners with Cable cards a HD DVR at the same $2 per month price for 6 months. They said that the usb dongle will be available sometime this year and they will be made available free of charge to cable card customers. I'm not sure how I feel about this...but I thought I'd post here about it.

I just got a letter in the mail today from Cox. They told me that they missed their SDV rollout on July 1 and that they were going to go live on Oct 11. They specifically offered Tivo HD and Tivo Series 3 owners with Cable cards a HD DVR at the same $2 per month price for 6 months. They said that the usb dongle will be available sometime this year and they will be made available free of charge to cable card customers. I'm not sure how I feel about this...but I thought I'd post here about it.

Chris

If you don't fill out your profile and you don't mention it in your post, we don't know where you live (which might help others)..

BuggyBoyVT - I live in Norman, and gave up on CableCard early this year. I keep checking in here to see if it's been fixed, but I'm guessing not. I got fed up with the "disappearing channels" issue, and switched to the Cox DVR. BIG MISTAKE. It's not even in the same league as TiVo, in my opinion.

We got rid of the Cox DVR and have our TiVoHD set up with basic, analog cable (no cablecards) and an HD antenna. TiVo neatly blends the two inputs into one channel grid. That's working well for us, and we're satisfied to stick with that until we see this whole CableCard fiasco has been resolved for at least several months.

I'm in Moore, OK. I had to have my CC's replace a few months back. It took about 12 mcards before I finally got one that worked great. So far no problems at all with this one. The disappearing channels problem has been fixed with the newest mcard firmware, we get all the channels (no SDV here).

We finally figured out the problem I was having with the cards not working. According one of the managers or senior techs in the NOC, when the local MSO receives their cable cards they 'check them into' their system into one of two modes. One mode is for their cable boxes(two way mode) and one way is for other devices (one way mode, tivos,tvs, etc). Once the card is in one mode it can't be switched. If it can, no one at the local office knows how or is willing to make the switch. Unfortunately when the techs grab cards, they don't know what mode they were checked in as.

I just got my new TiVo HD XL, and now I get the joy of going through cablecard fun with Cox/Fairfax. Here's hoping!

The good thing is the techs in Fairfax seem to be knowledgeable and seem to have a lot of experience installing CableCards.

Do let me know, tho, if they can get an M-Card to work, because they were never able to at my place. I'm still running on two S-Cards and now that my free credit has run out (due to scheduling snafus), I'd like to eliminate the extra fees.

The good thing is the techs in Fairfax seem to be knowledgeable and seem to have a lot of experience installing CableCards.

Do let me know, tho, if they can get an M-Card to work, because they were never able to at my place. I'm still running on two S-Cards and now that my free credit has run out (due to scheduling snafus), I'd like to eliminate the extra fees.

Well, my install is scheduled for tomorrow morning, so I'll let you know.

When I spoke with the CSR, he insisted that they don't use / support / sell / anything M-Cards. Only S-Cards. I told him I was fairly certain that they had M-cards, so he offered to check - but came back to the phone 5 minutes later saying only S-Cards still. *shrug* When the tech is out tomorrow, I'll ask him about it.

On the plus side, they didn't give me any grief at all on the CableCARD order. I spent 30 seconds in the IVR, 3 minutes on hold for a rep, and my conversation went something like this:

I'm in Oklahoma City (NW), and I've had my Tivo and cable cards for maybe a year and one half now, but I'm not really happy with it. I have issues all the time...poor performance when just switching channels seems to be my main issue. Who knows how old my cable cards are and what version of firmware etc...I had issues in the beginning with the installers getting them working and finally got these working and have been afraid to touch them or do anything with them since they basically work. The firmware I think is from 2005!

I like the Tivo interface and all, but its not that big a deal to me to overshadow performance and such, I've wanted to look into ATT UVerse, but its not available to my address yet, and the COX DVR isn't that great as all know...

I just got my new TiVo HD XL, and now I get the joy of going through cablecard fun with Cox/Fairfax. Here's hoping!

Good luck... personally I just dropped Cox and picked up FIOS since about 1/2 the HD channels were unavailable due to the SDV issue (which FIOS doesn't use AFAIK).

Quote:

When I spoke with the CSR, he insisted that they don't use / support / sell / anything M-Cards. Only S-Cards. I told him I was fairly certain that they had M-cards, so he offered to check - but came back to the phone 5 minutes later saying only S-Cards still. *shrug* When the tech is out tomorrow, I'll ask him about it.

Regarding the cards themselves, I know for a fact they at least had M cards since the first two times they came to my house to hook up the Tivo is was w/ M cards and it didn't work... at all. From reading here I finally called them back and asked for the S cards and those "worked" (again w/ about 1/2 the channels inaccessible).

Good luck... personally I just dropped Cox and picked up FIOS since about 1/2 the HD channels were unavailable due to the SDV issue (which FIOS doesn't use AFAIK).

Oh, I'd order FiOS in a heartbeat. They've got fiber down on three sides of my townhome community, and from what I hear from the maintenance guys, some of the townhouses have FiOS already. I'm still showing up as not available. It's very frustrating - but what can you do?

When I spoke with the CSR, he insisted that they don't use / support / sell / anything M-Cards. Only S-Cards. I told him I was fairly certain that they had M-cards, so he offered to check - but came back to the phone 5 minutes later saying only S-Cards still. *shrug* When the tech is out tomorrow, I'll ask him about it.

The CSR is wrong. I know because the techs were in my house for a couple of hours trying to get a couple of M-Cards working before they finally gave up and put in a couple of S-Cards.

I like the Tivo interface and all, but its not that big a deal to me to overshadow performance and such, I've wanted to look into ATT UVerse, but its not available to my address yet, and the COX DVR isn't that great as all know...

The UVerse DVR seems to have many of the same problems the Cox DVR does, according to my friend. She doesn't care much..I'd be driven nuts by it not recording shows, recording repeats, etc. At least it's not so slow.

The CSR is wrong. I know because the techs were in my house for a couple of hours trying to get a couple of M-Cards working before they finally gave up and put in a couple of S-Cards.

Jason

when i had the install done back in august (falls church) the Cox guy said that they do have M-cards, but only a limited number, so unless somebody cancels and returns one, you are going to be stuck with the S-cards.

When I spoke with the CSR, he insisted that they don't use / support / sell / anything M-Cards. Only S-Cards. I told him I was fairly certain that they had M-cards, so he offered to check - but came back to the phone 5 minutes later saying only S-Cards still. *shrug* When the tech is out tomorrow, I'll ask him about it.

On the plus side, they didn't give me any grief at all on the CableCARD order.

So the tech was out this morning with a single S card. It was his first CableCARD install, and he was a bit nervous. When I greeted him, he asked me if I was sure I didn't want their DVR instead... which I declined, of course. He came upstairs, I showed him the TiVo... and he said 'I need two cards, you've got two slots.' I explained that if he had an M-card, we only need one slot. He wasn't sure what kind of card he had. He went out to his truck and returned a few minutes later with a second card.

He slotted the first card, it came up, and he called in to activate it. Apparently they activate the cards by the serial number on the card, and not the card ID from the CableCard ID screen. Go figure. After they got the hostID for the first card, he slotted the second card and had them activate it as well. It took a few minutes for the 'hit' to come through, and then I was able to tune correctly. We checked several channels on the both cards, and things were good. Tech leaves.

So I get in and I'm tuning different channels, seeing everything it could do. The first card is working great, I can see the HD channels that aren't SDV. I go switch tuners, and start flipping through the channels... and the second card is only showing the clearQAM channels (the big four + PBS & CW). I go in and take a look - both cards show as authorized, but I look at the CableCARD info, and my first card has a newer firmware (???.3 from 2006 - at work at the moment) than the second card (???s2 2005). Additionally the second card doesn't agree on some of the detail values (0xffffff, which looks like a default). I gave support a call and asked them to check that both cards were entitled with services, and they told me they could rehit the cards. Then they said 'Wait, this was just activated less than an hour ago, we can't do anything, call back later.' **sigh** So I'll call them when I get home from work tonight and see whats up. The second card does appear to be getting the channel map, and can tune to the clear channels, just... isn't decrypting anything. Ahh, well.

I am writing to report SUCCESS! I followed up with Cox this morning re: my issues with my second S-Card in the previous post. They set up a same day dispatch, and the same tech who was out earlier this week came out again today. Today he was armed with the ever-elusive M-Card. We deslotted both S-Cards and slotted the M-Card. He went through activation with dispatch, and everything came up cleanly. I've now got a single M-Card, and can tune all the digital channels that aren't SDV. Now all we need is Cox to release the tuning adapter, and everything will be perfect.

I just had a tech out today to fix a cable card channel tuning issue (long story) and they said the Tuning Resolvers were in Employee Alpha, which means, if the stars align we may see them within 6 months. Wooo!

Gainesville, FL
Got M-stream installed about 3 weeks ago, tech said they've probably done less than half a dozen of them in the whole area. $1.99/mo for the card, $29.99 for the install.

I find the install fee a complete rip off since anyone who can setup a tivo themselves should have the brain to put a card in a slot, and was really pissed at the fact that it was "slipped" into my bill. I called Cox once before I got my tivo to make sure they had cable cards in my area and to find out the cost, and again to setup the appointment. Neither time anyone mentioned the install fee, much less the tech. It's not so much the amount, just the fact that no one ever mentioned it before hand.

Is anyone in the know about when the USB SDV Tuner will be avialable in the Fairfax area?

I spoke to the cox guy on the phone last wednesday when I was having trouble viewing a few HD channels I was supposed to get and he said that he had no idea and they only find out a couple of days before the public.

Its a shame though as us in the Fairfax area seem to be missing out on a lot more channels than most due to the SDV deployment up here. hopefully that means we will be some of the first to see the device though.